St Thomas man needs a place to call home

An air of despair and discomfort lingered over the dilapidated structure that Alton Bogle of Stony Hill in St Thomas calls home.

Curtained off by torn sheets of tarpaulin, the shabby two-apartment dwelling was furnished with a rusty spring bed propped up on pieces of blocks and cushioned by a mattress and sponge that have obviously seen better days.

The constant creaking of the zinc roof, supported by bamboo stands, warned of looming danger if not addressed soonest.

When The Gleaner pulled up in the valley in which Bogle’s home is located, the frail man breathlessly ran up the hillside as if he had been highly anticipating a visit.

It was later discovered that members of the Spring Garden Seventh-day Adventist Church regularly stop by on a Monday to provide him with lunch and other supplies.

“As a church, we visited the community on an evangelic campaign where we go to homes and hand out tracks and so forth. When I went down into that area I realised that somebody lived there despite the condition. I saw him and said hi and he told me his name,” said Lera Grant Watson.

She said she later inquired of him about his family and was told that his parents had died and that he has one sister who he says is living in Yallahs.

“I didn’t know how to contact the family member, so I took it to my church and shared that we’d want to get some help for him because he’s really in a deplorable state. The person in charge of community service at my church, Thelma Huie, and I started to visit him with food and things like that.

We also went to the NIS on his behalf and got a mattress for him and a big plastic that he could throw over the ceiling to keep him from getting wet. We went back there with a carpenter to take some measurements of the house and see what we could do because we’d like help to build him something proper to live in, but we need some help to do so,” the Good Samaritan said.

A man of very few words, Bogle, who said he is related to the hero Paul Bogle, shared that he has lived at the location for many years and that his house, which once consisted of one bedroom and a kitchen, was destroyed by fire in 2019.

JOB HUNTING

Despite the obvious signs of weakness, the 62-year-old man said he was doing well and that the Christmas season was going well for him.

He, however, mentioned that his national ID had been misplaced and that he was interested in recovering one so that he could begin seeking a job.

Bogle told The Gleaner that he remembered being employed at a garage in Kingston a very long time ago.

However, community members shared that this might not be so.

According to one man familiar with Bogle: “He’s lived in Stony Gut ever since he was a little boy because is him family place. Him grandmother, and so forth, used to live there too. From I know him he has been mentally challenged and I don’t know of him having any children or job, to be honest. What he does is go around and carry water for people, and they give him a little change, and that’s what he uses for food. Last year, the Seventh-day Adventist Church from Penwood help him to fix up the house a little after it burn down, but the rain and breeze destroy it again. Him condition really bad. Him need some help for real.”

Persons wishing to help may contact Lera Grant Watson of the Spring Garden Seventh-day Adventist Church at 876-883-3141.